Team India could witness the repeat of one of the rarest scheduling incidents in its cricket history. In addition to the potential Asian Games men’s cricket competition in Japan reaching its medal stage on October 3, 2026, the senior team is all set to play the West Indies in the third ODI at New Chandigarh.
Another Indian team will compete for gold or bronze in Japan if they advance from their quarterfinal clash on September 28 and semi-final on October 1.
Interestingly, this would be a repeat of September 12, 1998, when India selected different teams against Pakistan in the Sahara Friendship Cup in Toronto and at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur on the same day. 28 years later, India could once again split their men’s teams across two countries.
How Can Two Different Indian Teams Play On The Same Day?
India will play the second-place team from Group A on September 28 after being granted direct entry to the Asian Games quarterfinals. That group consists of Afghanistan, Japan, and Nepal; the winner of India’s quarterfinal advances to the semi-finals on October 1. Regardless of the outcome of the semi-final, India would thus be assured of another match on October 3. They would compete for bronze as the reigning champions following their victory at Hangzhou in 2023 if they lost, but they would advance to the gold-medal match if they won.
The strength of the team chosen for Japan is what makes the situation especially startling. Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are among the group that Shreyas Iyer will lead.
With a number of players who are already proven internationals and others who are firmly in the selectors’ white-ball plans, this is by no means a developmental or fringe India team. Iyer, Kishan, Nitish, Axar, Washington, Bumrah, Harshit, and Arshdeep are the eight players selected for the Asian Games from India’s squad for the recent ODI series in England.
Selectors will need to take into consideration the players who are unavailable due to the Games as India’s roster for the West Indies ODI series has not yet been revealed. In New Chandigarh, one India team composed of ODI regulars like , Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav might play the West Indies, while the other would likely be competing for a medal in Japan.